Big Blue Bargains Serving as Swampscott's Own Santa Claus As Way of Saying Thanks

12 Days of Giving was meant to be a way to give back || Courtesy Photo

On Monday, December 22 all 14 crossing guards in town were surprised with a special delivery. They opened new gloves and gift cards to coffee shops, mugs and other useful tools to help with their duties. One crossing guard said the surprise absolutely made his day.

The delivery was just one of 12 ways Big Blue Bargains gave back to people around Swampscott over the last two weeks.

Big Blue Bargains’ 12 Days of Giving started on Saturday, December 13 with a donation of toys to Toys for Local Children. Every day since, groups around town – like the Swampscott Police Department and the Department of Public Works – have been the recipients of acts of kindness from Big Blue Bargains.

“This community rallies around people, businesses and non-profits,” said Laura Lynn, who sits on the board of directors for Big Blue Bargains. “It’s just a testament to the town. We can do this because Swampscott is such a special place.”

Big Blue Bargains is a volunteer-run non-profit thrift store that reopened under its current leadership in February, after being closed for five years. In the 10 months the store has been open, it has donated $22,000 back into the Swampscott Community.

Each day had a new act of kindness || Courtesy Photo

Lynn said the 12 Days of Giving was a way to thank the town for supporting the store in its efforts to get back up and running.

“One of our volunteers thought of the idea,” said Lynn. “It was an immediate ‘yes’ from everyone.”

After the first day’s donations to Toys for Local Children, Big Blue Bargains donated a full rack of coats to the Swampscott High School Jewish Student Union’s coat drive on the second day of giving.

Over the course of 12 days, the group partnered with local restaurants such as Cafe Avellino, Tony Lena’s and Grab the Bagel to deliver food around town.

“We specifically chose small local businesses to partner with to send meals or local organizations that also directly impact our community,” said Lynn.

Police officers receive food from Tony Lena’s || Courtesy Photo

Lynn thanked donors and Big Blue Bargains volunteers for making the busy couple of weeks possible.

The full list of the 12 Days of Giving are as follows:

Day 1 (December 13): Donated 12 Toys to Toys for Local Children, a nonprofit run by Swampscott Public School educators to help bring holiday cheer to local students

Day 2 (December 14): Donated a full rack of coats to the Swampscott High School Jewish Student Union’s coat drive

Day 3 (December 15): Board of directors cooked a meal as part of SPUR Inc.’s meal prep program that was delivered to the Lynn Recuperative Care Center

Day 4 (December 16): Sponsored meals from Lincoln’s Landing for the Swampscott Department of Public Works

Day 5 (December 17): Delivered treats from Three Hundred Fifty and Grab the Bagel to employees at the Town Hall and Post Office

Day 6 (December 18): Donated sweaters and sweats to Boston Healthcare for the Homeless

Day 7 (December 19): Fulfilled 14 Holiday Cheer lists for SPUR Inc.

Day 8 (December 20): Partnered with Cafe Avellino to deliver food to the Swampscott Fire Department

Day 9 (December 21): Partnered with Tony Lena’s to deliver food to the Swampscott Police Department

Day 10 (December 22): Delivered gift bags of winter essentials including gift cards to Sweet Java to all 14 of the town’s crossing guards

Day 11 (December 23): Sponsored a workshop run by Swampscott resident Karlene Ball at the Swampscott Senior Center

Day 12 (December 24): Sponsored the food for Swampscott High School’s Discovery Point program’s holiday party as well as the money for the students to purchase gifts for each other